soldiers

This winding path has been used for centuries – and is just as popular today.

A winding road which meanders through Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire is thought to be the oldest in Britain. The Ridgeway is an ancient path which has provided safe routes through the country for centuries.

The road follows a ride of chalk hills for 139 kilometres to reach Ivinghoe Beacon in northwest London. This same route is the one that travellers, farmers and soldiers have walked for more than 5,000 years.

Nowadays, the road is popular with cyclists and walkers as well as people who use mobility scooters.

Along the trail, walkers can gaze out over wide views of rolling chalk hills and find all kinds of archaeological marvels.

There are Iron Age forts, as well as the White Horse of Uffington, which is thought to be the oldest hill figure in Britain.

The White Horse is carved into the chalk hillside and is an incredible 374 feet in length. According to the BBC it’s thought to date back to 1,000BC in the late Bronze Age.

The path also takes walkers past Wayland’s Smithy – a Neolithic ruin that is thought to have once been the home of Wayland, the Saxon god of metalworking.

It’s an atmospheric area.

The visible ruin is actually a secondary structure – the original, which lies beneath the stones, is thought to have been a burial structure where 14 people were interred between 3460 and 3400 BC.

Wayland’s Smithy was constructed on top of the burial site, and has remained there over the centuries.

The track fluctuates between the wide open chalk paths along the hillside and the deeply embedded lanes between ancient beech trees.

Once you are East of the Thames, The Ridgeway travels through the sun-dappled woodland and the intimate hills and valleys of the Chilterns – an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The walk is rich in history, but also makes for a stunning walk. You don’t have to tackle the whole thing at once – there are plenty of circular routes dotted along the trail, and multiple places to start and finish.

Dozens of Israeli soldiers have abandoned their weapons and walked out of the Sde Teiman military base in a dispute with a senior commander reportedly trying to restore discipline. Soldiers at the base have long been accused of flagrant violations of laws, including torture of Palestinian detainees.

This road has a long history studded with soldiers, cyclists and tourists

Tucked in the hills of the Lake District is a twisting road that is so steep and challenging it’s often brought up as one of the most dangerous in the UK. Hardknott Pass, between Eskdale and the Duddon Valley, links the Lake District with West Cumbria.

Often impassable in the winter due to snow and ice, it is also one of the steepest in the UK. It has a maximum gradient of 33%, and winds through the mountains with a series of hairpin turns that would put fear in any casual driver.

This steep gradient draws endurance cyclists from across the world. It’s steeper than any other mountain stage in any other European races, including the Tour de France.

Every year, cyclists flock to the pass to complete the Fred Whitton Challenge – an 112 mile ride around the Lake District.

From Romans to tank training

A version of what is now Hardknott Pass was built by the Romans around AD110 to link the coastal fort at Ravenglass to their garrisons in Ambleside. They called it the tenth highway, but it fell into disrepair in the early 5th century when the Romans left Britain. For years it was used as an unpaved packhorse route to transport lead and farming goods.

In the 1880s, the road was improved by the English Lake District Association – a group of hoteliers. They hoped that making the road better would encourage more people to travel there but by 1891 it had failed to attract the number of people they had wanted.

Instead, the route was popular with cyclists and motorists. Even then, it was described as a challenging road to pass, with the Guide to North-West England describing the old coach road as “difficult going West, cruel coming East”.

Fast forward to World War 2 and the remote mountain pass was in regular use by British forces who used it to train tank drivers, completely destroying what was left of the road surface.

After the war it was finally tarmacked and opened to vehicles.

The road today

Now, the road is a thrilling drive where anyone coming downhill must be prepared to reverse into tight passing bays to allow those coming up the right of way.

However, despite the challenge of driving the road, the views at its 393 metre summit are well worth the effort.

The peak of the mountain offers breathtaking panoramic views stretching toward the Scafell range.

As you drive along the route, you pass the haunting ruins of Hardknott Roman fort, where the same soldiers who used to travel the pass stood watch over the mountain wilderness.

The US military says it launched another round of strikes against Iran to “further degrade” its capabilities to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The strikes – the 10th consecutive night of attacks – come after US President Donald Trump vowed to punish Iran for the deaths of US soldiers.

Trump earlier said Iran had been hit “very hard” the previous night “in honour” of three US soldiers killed recently – two in Jordan and one in Iraq.

In response to the latest wave, Iran said it struck two oil tankers in the waterway, as well as US military assets in Bahrain and Kuwait, state news agency IRNA reported. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran was now fighting a “full-scale war” with the US.

At the same time, Tehran said diplomatic messages were still being exchanged by both sides through intermediaries, despite a collapse of a ceasefire.

US Central Command (Centcom) said on X that the latest strikes had hit Iranian “military command centres, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and air defense systems”.

Commercial vessels have continued to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Centcom said.

Iran said rescue teams were removing the crews from the two oil tankers it had struck while attempting to transit through the vital waterway, according to the state news agency IRNA.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz had reported being struck by an unknown projectile, forcing its crew to abandon the vessel and board a lifeboat.

It was not clear whether the tanker reported by UKMTO was among those cited by Iran.

On Tuesday night the Department of Defense confirmed the identities of two of the US soldiers – Pte Isabella Gonzales, 19, from Texas, and Lt Tyler James Feehan, 25, from Hawaii – who were killed in an Iranian strike on the Muwaffaq Salti base in Jordan over the weekend.

Centcom said earlier a third service member also went missing in action after the attack, and unidentified remains were later found in the area.

Elsewhere in the region, Jordan’s military said late on Monday it had shot down three Iranian missiles as sirens sounded across the country warning of incoming fire.

Earlier in the day, Kuwait’s armed forces said they had intercepted Iranian drones.

Bahrain said drones launched by Iran had targeted its air navigation systems – but traffic remained unaffected.

On the US strikes the previous night, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that several cities had been hit including Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini.

Iranian state media reported that two oil tankers had exploded as the vessels tried to cross the strait.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the tankers were going through what it called an “unsafe and hazardous southern route” of the strait and “exploded and were brought to a halt”. Centcom disputed the claims.

The US intensifies air strikes on Iran, targeting critical sites after the deaths of American soldiers in the region.

US President Donald Trump says Iran will “pay” for killing United States soldiers after multiple service members were killed in action over the weekend.

“Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!” Trump said on Monday on social media. “This directive has been passed on to Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Daniel Caine, and every Leader in the Military. President DONALD J TRUMP.”

Trump’s warning came after the US earlier on Monday launched its ninth night of air strikes on Iran after announcing the death of a US service member, killed in Iraq during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone.

The US military also identified two soldiers who were killed in Jordan on Friday while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Seventeen US troops have been killed since the start of the five-month US-Israel war on Iran.

The renewed exchanges of fire, now in their second week, have seen the US target Iranian bridges and electrical facilities as the countries appear to inch closer to a return to full-scale war. Iran on Monday retaliated with attacks on US allies Kuwait and Bahrain, home of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.

Roughly 430 US troops have been injured in the conflict so far.

The White House said Trump would attend dignified transfer ceremonies at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the service members killed.

It is unclear what specific “directive” Trump passed to the Pentagon. But a US official told Reuters that prior to the deadly attack in Jordan, the US had already started moving additional military aircraft, including fighter jets and refuelling tankers, to the Middle East.

In the past week, Trump has threatened to expand the targets being struck in Iran to include energy plants and bridges, sending ground forces to seize Iran’s Kharg Island oil hub and bombing a deep-underground nuclear-linked site known as Pickaxe Mountain.

Sources have told Reuters that recent waves of US strikes on Iran aimed at forcing open the Strait of Hormuz are also targeting Iranian military capabilities the US would want to destroy before executing more complex operations against the country.

The war, including its monetary cost, is set to dominate a US congressional hearing on Tuesday with Hegseth and Caine.

July 20 (UPI) — The Department of Defense on Monday identified the two active-duty U.S. soldiers who were killed in action by an Iranian strike on Friday in Jordan.

The Pentagon announced the deaths of 25-year-old Tyler James Feehan of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and 19-year-old Isabella Gonzales of Carrollton, Texas. They were stationed at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan when it was hit by Iranian ballistic missile and drone strikes.

Four more U.S. troops were injured in the strikes.

The deaths of Feehan and Gonzales were the first deaths of U.S. troops since the peace deal between the United States and Iran was briefly met earlier this month. Since the war began in February, 17 U.S. troops have been killed, including a soldier who was killed in Iraq on Saturday. That soldier has not been publicly identified.

Feehan was assigned to the 32nd Army Air Missile Defense Command in Fort Bragg, N.C. Gonzales was assigned to the 10th Army Air Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany.

The United States and Iran have traded strikes for nine consecutive nights since the peace agreement between the sides was broken earlier this month. President Donald Trump said Sunday that the U.S. strikes over the weekend were in “honor” of the “probably three” soldiers killed in Jordan and Iraq.

U.S. Central Command said in a statement on Saturday that it began launching new airstrikes against Iran at Trump’s direction.

US president says death of soldiers in Jordan a ‘sad thing’ as US forces attack Iran for the eighth consecutive night.

July 16 (UPI) — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has announced that all service members aged 30 and older will undergo mandatory screening for testosterone deficiency during their annual health assessments, as the Trump administration continues to emphasize traditional masculine ideals in its public presentation of the U.S. military.

The former Fox News host announced the new policy in an online video statement, saying the new testosterone-screening program is to ensure all U.S. soldiers “have the right testosterone levels to operate at your absolute best.”

“We owe our warriors the absolute best medical care in the world, and this program delivers on that obligation,” he said.

According to a Department of Defense statement, while mandatory for all active-duty and reserve personnel over the age of 30, younger service members may also request screening during their periodic health assessments.

Hegseth said if treatment for a deficiency is recommended, it is up to the service member to decide whether to undergo testosterone replacement therapy.

“This initiative — it’s not about artificial enhancement. It’s about restoring and optimizing your natural capabilities, protecting your longevity and ensuring you have the biological foundation required to sustain the fight,” he said.

Testosterone is produced in the testicles and helps maintain men’s bone density, fat distribution and muscle strength and mass, among other functions, according to the Mayo Clinic, which said that after the age of 30 or 40, men’s testosterone levels decline at a rate of about 1% a year.

Testosterone replacement therapy seeks to alleviate issues caused by low levels of the hormone, though the Mayo Clinic states that its unclear if such treatment would benefit older men who are otherwise healthy.

The announcement comes as testosterone and testosterone-replacement therapy has been a focus of the Trump administration.

Last month, the Department of Health and Human Services announced it had requested to remove labeling from testosterone-replacement therapy that stated the safety and effectives of the treatment in men with age-related have not been established.

It also comes as Hegseth has sought to cultivate a more traditionally masculine image and culture within the U.S. military, implementing President Donald Trump‘s ban on transgender services members and imposing male physical standards for combat positions, a move critics say could reduce the number of women serving in those roles.

He has also sought to instill a “warrior ethos” in the military and routinely refers to service members as warriors. The Trump administration also refers to the Department of Defense as the “Department of War,” though a permanent change to the department’s name requires congressional approval.

Some Democrats were quick to point out that testosterone-replacement therapy is a form of gender-affirming care, which the Trump administration and Republicans have sought to restrict and ban.

“This, by the way, is gender-affirming care,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said during a congressional hearing held shortly after Hegseth’s announcement.

“And, by the way, male members of this committee, watch what you vote for. Do you really want the government getting into your business, taking your testosterone levels and determine whether or not you have enough testosterone? Are you male enough to be in Congress?” she said, mocking the policy.

Funerals will be held for Lebanese officers killed in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon, as Beirut’s army chief headed to Pakistan on a surprise visit amid ongoing mediation efforts in the wider United States-Israel war on Iran.

The Lebanese soldiers will be laid to rest on Sunday, a day after the brigadier general, captain and soldier were killed in an Israeli strike on a military vehicle on the Khardali-Nabatieh road, in an incident the Israeli army said it was investigating.

A ceasefire agreed on April 17 was meant to halt the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, but Israel has continued to carry out near-daily attacks, prompting retaliatory ones from the Lebanese group. The violence has taken a disproportionate toll on civilians in Lebanon, where more than 3,500 people have been killed since hostilities resumed on March 2.

A further conditional ceasefire was announced by Lebanese and Israeli envoys last week in Washington, but was rejected by Hezbollah as it did not include the group or provide for Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal left on Saturday for Pakistan, which has emerged as a central mediator between the US and Iran.

The visit is notable given the insistence by Washington – and by Lebanese leaders, including the president – that ceasefire talks for Lebanon remain separate from the US-Iran negotiations ‌mediated by Pakistan.

Fighting continues in southern Lebanon

Meanwhile, Israeli attacks hit several towns across southern Lebanon and the western Bekaa overnight, while Hezbollah said it launched rockets, artillery fire, and drone attacks against Israeli forces, including near the Beaufort Castle in Yohmor al-Shaqif.

Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said on Sunday that an Israeli raid on the town of Saksakiyeh a day earlier killed at least two people. The ministry added that 22 people were wounded in the attack, including three children and a woman.

Two others were wounded following an Israeli drone attack on the town of Shahabiyeh, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Israeli air attacks also hit the town of Qalawiya at dawn, and the towns of al-Qatrani, Byblos and Rihan in the Jezzine district overnight. The town of Deir Kifa in the Tyre district was also bombed, while Barashit and Chaqra in the same district were subjected to intermittent artillery shelling overnight.

NNA also reported artillery shelling in the towns of al-Mansouri and Bayt al-Sayyad in the Tyre district.

Israeli warplanes launched an attack on the town of Srifa. Local media also reported that Israeli fighter jets attacked Dweir, near Nabatieh, north of the Litani River.

Paramedics, meanwhile, continue to look for survivors under the rubble following Israeli attacks.

“The pattern is part of what is being called the Gazafication of Lebanon, or Israel using actions normalised by the Gaza genocide,” said Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh, reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

“The targeting of schools in southern Lebanon, just like Gaza. Bombing Lebanese hospitals and clinics, also like Gaza. And the murder of journalists. Then there’s these so-called double-tap attacks against paramedics and rescue workers. Hundreds of Palestinian and Lebanese paramedics have been killed with this unlawful practice.”

Gazafication extends to the ceasefire, too, she added.

“The ‘Yellow Line’, first introduced in Gaza, has now swallowed 60 percent of the territory. In Lebanon, the ‘Yellow Line’ now includes nearly a fifth of the country. Both invisible lines keep expanding,” said Odeh.

No choice but negotiations, says Lebanese lawmaker

Najat Aoun Saliba, an independent member of Lebanon’s parliament, meanwhile, condemned Israel’s killing of the Lebanese soldiers and said President Joseph Aoun has no choice but to enter into negotiations with Israel.

“If we don’t have negotiations, what is the alternative? Is the alternative going to war? The war is not going to give us peace,” she told Al Jazeera.

Saliba said dialogue was the only viable path given the imbalance of power between Israel and Lebanon’s armies.

“The balance of power between the armies is not to be compared. Israel has a very strong army backed up by the United States. The Lebanese Armed Forces have been sidelined by a political will for 30 years, because they wanted to strengthen the presence of Hezbollah,” she said.

The lawmaker added that Hezbollah has not been able to stop Israeli aggression.

“Hezbollah is not able to stop any of these war crimes, and it’s not able to stop any of the invasions that Israel is doing. I think with … all these massacres and destruction, I don’t think we have a choice.”

The killing of Brigadier General Wissam Sabra, Captain Elie Khoury and soldier Hussein Ghozal came at a tense moment amid broader efforts to strike a deal between the US, Iran, Hezbollah, the Lebanese government and Israel.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said the attack was “aimed at thwarting all efforts to reach a solution”, while Prime Minister Nawaf Salam described it as “a heinous crime and an attack on Lebanon and all Lebanese people”.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war when Iran-backed Hezbollah attacked Israel on March 2, following joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Tehran has made a ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah a condition for any peace deal with Washington.

Israel’s military has advanced beyond Lebanon’s Litani River for the first time since 2006.

Israel’s military has advanced beyond the Litani River in southern Lebanon for the first time since 2006 and appear poised to encircle the major city of Nabatieh.

Senior Lebanese military sources on Saturday told the Turkish state news agency Anadolu that Israeli forces had crossed the Litani River, which Israel has declared the perimeter of its unofficial buffer zone.

Israeli forces are now on the outskirts of Nabatieh, a city that is key to southern Lebanon’s economy and a cultural hub for the region. If the Shia-majority city were to fall, it would mark a significant development in the war on Lebanon, which began in October 2023 and subsequent official ceasefire.

Nabatieh is viewed by many Lebanese as a symbol of resistance due to its historic role on the frontline of Israeli assaults.

Reporting from the southern city of Tyre, Al Jazeera’s Obaida Hitto said Israel was expanding its air campaign in southern Lebanon and encircling Nabatieh in preparation for a potential assault on the city.

“It looks like Israel is trying to make this final push to encircle Nabatieh, breaking through the second and third lines of defence of Hezbollah and isolating the western Bekaa Valley from the south of the country,” Hitto said.

Israel has issued evacuation orders for at least 10 villages in southern Lebanon, as it expands its invasion, despite being engaged in ongoing peace talks with Lebanese officials.

The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, instructed residents in several Lebanese villages to evacuate immediately, warning they could be killed if they remained.

The order came the day after officials from both countries met in Washington to discuss a permanent end to the war. It began in early March when Iran-backed Hezbollah began attacking Israel following the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

Hitto said people fleeing their homes have few options, with more than 20 percent of the population — around 1.2 million people — displaced by fighting.

“Those options are turning into basically people living with relatives if they have that option, or people living in makeshift camps in public parks and public spaces. I’ve seen many families living in their vehicles for long periods of time,” Hitto said.

“Some of these families have been continuously displaced since 2023,” Hitto added.

The latest forced displacement orders are a further test to the nominal “ceasefire” in place since mid-April and repeatedly violated by Israel. It justifies its actions by saying it is targeting Hezbollah as part of efforts to disarm the group.

On Friday, at least 14 people were killed in Israeli air raids in southern Lebanon.

Lebanese officials are working to disarm Hezbollah, but the task has proved extremely difficult.

Lebanese and Israeli officials are currently engaged in negotiations to end the war, marking the first time the two sides have spoken directly in decades.

The talks are being facilitated by the United States, and a new round is expected in Washington next week.

Lebanon’s President, Joseph Aoun, held talks with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Saturday to discuss the security situation and  ongoing negotiations with Israel. According to the state-run National News Agency, they agreed to intensify efforts to end the war, which has triggered a humanitarian crisis.

Aoun also spoke by phone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and stressed the importance of Israel respecting the current ceasefire.